The Ohio Association of Community Colleges gathered together at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio for their annual conference and honored Rep. Niraj Antani with the Terry M. Thomas Friend of Community Colleges Award in recognition of his leadership and tireless advocacy on behalf of Ohio’s 23 community colleges and the hundreds of thousands of students they serve every year. In part due to Rep. Antani’s leadership, the sector benefitted from tens of millions of dollars in additional capital funding and have also benefited from funding that has been used to address the needs of major regional employers.

“In my 14 years at Sinclair, I honestly can’t remember an elected official more focused on helping the community colleges, which are Ohio’s most affordable and job focused institutions, deliver results for their students than Niraj Antani is,” Sinclair President Steve Johnson said. “I’m pleased that he was recognized with this award, and even more pleased that he is able to continue to work on behalf of our students and the businesses we serve for many more years in the future.”

“Niraj Antani is laser focused on making sure that Ohio’s students, small businesses, and working families have access to the higher education they need and that Ohio’s bureaucracy gets out of their way,” OACC President Jack Hershey said. “He has shown great leadership and commitment to Ohio’s community college students and has already achieved great things on their behalf. He is truly deserving of this award.”

“Community colleges help Ohioans get the education needed to achieve their American dreams,” Representative Niraj Antani said. “I am working in the Statehouse every day to help community colleges like Sinclair so that they can educate more students.”